Ocean Springs veterans giving World War I its due

OCEAN SPRINGS -- Richard Eckert was 13 when he climbed a hill near his home in Maryland to see Gen. John Pershing's funeral procession pass on its way to Arlington National Cemetery -- the horse-drawn caisson, a flag-draped coffin, the empty saddle.

At an early age, Eckert knew Pershing's significance as America's general over troops in World War I. He wants the younger generation in Ocean Springs to know it, too.

So with the 100th anniversary of that war, 1914-1918, upon us, Eckert is working on a civic project that is close to his heart.

He is the historian for American Legion Post 42, which has championed the project -- a Pershing Square to enhance a memorial on the front lawn of the Mary C. O'Keefe Cultural Center that already honors a WWI veteran.

The memorial is a monument the city erected in 1927 for its own Emile Ladnier, who died in the war four days before the armistice was signed.

Ocean Springs' Pershing Square will be a patio, surrounded by benches, of brick pavers extending out from the monument with the names of local veterans engraved in the bricks. The pavers are for sale to fund the project and to help the city with upkeep on its other veterans memorials.

Monumental undertaking

Eckert afraid people today don't realize how may Americans served in "The Great War" -- 4.7 million -- or that more Americans gave their lives -- 116,516 according to the national website -- in WWI than died in the Korean and Vietnam wars combined. But unlike Vietnam and Korea, there's no memorial to WWI on the National Mall in Washington.

Memorial planned in DC too

Work toward the local memorial coincides with a national push to come up with a WWI tribute for D.C. The 2015 National Defense Authorization Act established a commission for that purpose.

The local and national memorials are separate efforts, but both will be funded by private contributions and involve the American Legion, and both will be named Pershing Square. The announcement of the design selection for the national memorial is expected in early January.

Bricks can honor veterans

The Ocean Springs project, on the other hand, was conceived this fall and the design will be two 10-foot by 4-foot sections of brick pavers holding 200 bricks, flanking the sidewalk that leads to the monument. Anyone wishing to contribute can pick up a form at the Mary C or download one from the Mary C website or Facebook page. The cost of having a brick engraved with the name of a veteran will be $55, or $90 for two, until the end of January.

The honored veteran can be a friend or relative from any branch of the service or Reserves, living or not, who served in any war to preserve U.S. freedom.

On Feb. 1, the cost of having a paver engraved will increase to $75. Sales will end in time to have the bricks engraved and Pershing Square complete for a spring dedication.

People wishing to contribute without naming a veteran can make a check out to SAL Pershing Square and mail it to American Legion Post 42, 6213 Shore Drive, Ocean Springs MS 39564.

Or they can contact Eckert at reckert11@cableone.net.

America enters world stage

Eckert said he's concerned people don't realize the significance of WWI. After all, it was a war fought on horseback and in trenches, before tanks and jets came into the picture.

But getting involved in World War I brought America out of itself and changed the way Americans view their role in world affairs, historians say. Americans began to see themselves as "active participants for the good in world affairs," the WWI commission reminds the country during its efforts to educate.

Besides, there's the little-known fact that every state and territory in the country had men who volunteered to serve in the war -- 198,000 Texans, for example, 400,000 New Yorkers, 324,000 Pennsylvanians and 200,000 Ohioans.

Another tidbit: It wasn't called World War I in the day, because there was no World War II yet. It has been called "The Great War" and "The War to End All Wars." Ladnier's 1927 plaque calls it simply The World War.

This story was originally published January 2, 2016 at 6:26 PM with the headline "Ocean Springs veterans giving World War I its due ."